Helmet being worn by pitcher—men's slow pitch

[Cannonball]

Jason, as I said, I played at a high level and yes, we had what was called "Plan B." I was the "Plan B Guy." We tried to avoid the middle UNLESS a message had to be sent. I was dumb and full of spit and vinegar back then and so, the guys would come to me and tell me to plan b the pitcher. Most of the time, I sent the message witout hurting him. A few times... A lot of the guys I played with were former college or professional football players and so, we were very large as a team. For example Daryl Dixion was an All American at Michigan State and played pro football. I was by far the smallest guy and was a 1 or 3 hitter but to get on base. I was our team's defensive specialist and so, I moved around a lot.

Regarding the homeruns for DBOs. We had that when I played too but only in one or two of the associations. I was playing in Columbus Ohio and hit a bomb with no one on. We were a very competitive local team that was just good enough to lose in major "world" tournaments. I got the snot knocked out of me by three guys when I got into the dugout. Those guys had done thier fair share of drinking before hand and so they were not their normal selves. Turned into a bad event. I didn't intend to hit the homerun. I played with that team the following summer because I had already committed to them but I played that entire year without talking to a one of them.

 

[BretMan]

I was playing in Columbus Ohio....

At Berliner Park, the complex with 32 fields?

 

[Cannonball]

At Berliner Park, the complex with 32 fields?

Yes! What a complex!

 

[MTR]

And it appears that some of them didn't make the team because of their sliding in/ability as that game would've been tied and continued if there had been a slide on the final out.

No, he was in no position to slide, rounded 3B too wide. Pup never should have sent him, assuming he did. If you are going to be in Dallas, remind me and I'll ask him

My comment re conditioning was simply an observation, a comment. With respect to size/conditioning, I don't have an issue with a players size, whether its Joe SP, Prince Fielder, or my DD, but, IMO, in many cases it does provide some insight into how seriously they take their hobbies, professions, and health. And, FWIW, there were many players that looked to be in excellent shape. The last question I have is when the HR limit is reached and each bomb thereafter is a DBO, is it ego that prevents them from keeping the ball in the park when the game has yet to be decided?

I don't think some of them can change their swing which is why I'm curious as to why not change the bat.

While some like vanilla, others prefer chocolate. Obviously I prefer FP .

Don't worry, won't hold that against you

 

[MTR]

If you were watching closely you would have seen balls hit at 1st and 3rd that were eating them up. They are 15ft deep in the grass probably 90ft away the pitcher might get back to 55ft if lucky.

Most pitchers get back to 65-70'. At this level, it depends on the pitch height. These guys would rather be set and prepared than deep. They are good and quite capable of fielding their position.

The ball exit speeds at this level are 110 mph easily probably more like 120 mph. Even though the majority of these players could clear the 310ft fence using a wood bat, I would almost with 100% certainty guess they are all using shaved/juiced bats. I have seen some of thess guys putting balls into the upper decks at MLB parks. The male commentator said he saw one of the hit balls out of PETCO stadium in San Diego. In this game after the home runs were gone guys were cutting back swings and still wristing line drives 350ft. Pitching is scary at that level. None of the girls are having balls hit back at them any where close to the velocity these men generate.

The BES is 98 max, usually closer to 85-90. These bats are legal. The demonstrations at professional ball parks are marketing events by sponsors and bat manufacturers. They are not games, but HR derby competitions with a neutral or the batter's select pitchers. Ask Sammy Sosa how those things work

 

[bmwm316]

Most pitchers get back to 65-70'. At this level, it depends on the pitch height. These guys would rather be set and prepared than deep. They are good and quite capable of fielding their position.



The BES is 98 max, usually closer to 85-90. These bats are legal. The demonstrations at professional ball parks are marketing events by sponsors and bat manufacturers. They are not games, but HR derby competitions with a neutral or the batter's select pitchers. Ask Sammy Sosa how those things work

A controlled study on batted ball speed and ... [Br J Sports Med. 2005] - PubMed - NCBI This is a study showing actual BES in the field with regulation bats. Also I played for USSSA C teams sponsered by Worth and a bat called one cryo, granted it was prior to the BPF era but, we were given juiced bats. I played some league ball in 2007 with my buddies and a couple happened to play for open division teams and every one of their bats was juiced. Rolled and shaved. They would go thru 3-4 bats in one tourney because the walls were so thin they would crumple. When they do exebihtions HR contest not only tha bats are juiced but so are the balls.

 

[MTR]

A controlled study on batted ball speed and ... [Br J Sports Med. 2005] - PubMed - NCBI This is a study showing actual BES in the field with regulation bats. Also I played for USSSA C teams sponsered by Worth and a bat called one cryo, granted it was prior to the BPF era but, we were given juiced bats. I played some league ball in 2007 with my buddies and a couple happened to play for open division teams and every one of their bats was juiced. Rolled and shaved. They would go thru 3-4 bats in one tourney because the walls were so thin they would crumple. When they do exebihtions HR contest not only tha bats are juiced but so are the balls.

So, you are saying you are a cheater? And at the 'C' level?

A British test in a minimally controlled environment from seven years ago. ASA doesn't use or refer to ASA (until this years decision on what Seniors are allowed to swing), and isn't given consideration testing.

In the past, ASA would study live testing, but not give it much credence since there were too many human variables. They eventually included live action into their conclusions when they tied into the Trackman, a system which can track and incorporate all aspects of the event. And even using Doppler, there are still many variables that have to be taken into consideration.

Since this report, it was discovered that manufacturer's produced bats they knew would exceed the 98mph through use. ASA discovered this when they began testing used bats. Apparently, the licensing agreement was vague to the point the manufacturers had a legal point which is why they negotiated a settlement to grandfather certain bats, and ASA changing the testing process which involved prepping all bats to be tested by applying ABT to simulate how the bat will change in performance.

There is no doubt that bats can perform their way out of spec. Last year during ASA SP Championship Series, Men's A & Women's Open Championships ASA test all bats at check-in. All bats which passed were taken and sequestered for the duration of the tournament. When teams played, their bats were delivered to the field and collected at the end of the game. If a player took a bat into the dugout, it was confiscated and no longer eligible to be used.

ASA randomly checked some bats throughout the tournaments. On the last night, they tested all bats and found that out of more than 100 bats and found that 2 barely played out of spec.

Can there be a ball come out in excess of 98 mph? Sure, anything is possible, but I have little doubt that is a rarity with today's bats and balls.

 

[bmwm316]

At C Level? Seems like you think that is somehow substandard. The difference in classification as you know is HR's allowed. Besides, if you look at current USSSA rankings there are 5 major teams listed, 32 A teams, 46 B teams, and 609 C teams. At the top levels of these classes the the difference in skill sets is power, Every one on the top A and all open teams is capable of putting the ball way out of the yard. Hit 700 at worlds in C class. Have seen A and open tournies where they only had to walk to 1st after a bomb. Guys would miss one and hit a seed one hop off the fence and walk to first and stop waiting for the next guy to hit a bomb. Exciting stuff. The HR limit in the USA vs USA Futures made it more interesting.
Yes I was cheating, personally I didn't like using the juiced bats but that was what were given by our sponsor. I also hated the One Cryo bat, it was a POS but again, playing for free comes with some sacrifice. When I started playing we used 33 oz Tennessee thumpers and Howards furniture bats which I would use as a swing bat now. LOL
As far as bat testing by ASA goes, those portable compression testers are suspect at best. Have heard that they have passed Miken Ultra II's and failed out of the rapper ASA bats. I guess we will just have to disagree on exit speeds. I have had those big Magilla Gorilla guys hit balls back at me, I pitched and in 2008 at 47 years old the ball was coming so fast I was chucking and ducking when the 3 HRS were gone and they had to shoot the middle to try and keep the ball in the yard.

 

[3sDad]

SP teams use juiced, hot, altered bats...most hitters can place the ball...and they hit the BALL hard...You take one of those line drives off the noggin and you'll A. Be Dead or B. a vegetable

 

[MTR]

SP teams use juiced, hot, altered bats...most hitters can place the ball...and they hit the BALL hard...You take one of those line drives off the noggin and you'll A. Be Dead or B. a vegetable

Rubbish. MOST do not use altered bats, MOST cannot place the ball, but MANY to rely on the speed of the ball to make up for lack of that skill.

Take one of any batted ball off of anywhere and you risk a visit to the emergency room